Research Prospects in Spatial Data Infrastructure for Handling Energy Linked Disaster’s

Spatial data infrastructures for cities in developing countries

The need to create multi-participant, decision-supported environments to address the issues of sustainable development and improving the quality of life creates a growing need to organise data across disciplines and organisations through different forms of spatial data infrastructure (SDI). This infrastructure is fundamentally a concept about facilitation and coordination of the exchange and sharing of spatial data between stakeholders from different jurisdictional levels in the spatial data community. The concept is well explained as an integrated, multi-levelled hierarchy of interconnected SDIs based on partnerships at corporate, local, state/provincial, national, regional (multi-national) and global (GSDI) levels. The creation of such an infrastructure and understanding the role of dynamic partnerships within an SDI hierarchy are essential to develop any SDI initiative. This paper reviews the nature and concept of SDIs, including the SDI hierarchy, which has helped to build understanding about the impo...

Abstract. Geo-information techniques have proven their usefulness for the purposes of early warning and emergency response. These techniques enable us to generate extensive geo-information to make informed decisions in response to natural disasters that lead to better protection of citizens, reduce damage to property, improve the monitoring of these disasters, and facilitate estimates of the damages and losses resulting from them. The maintenance and accessibility of spatial information has improved enormously with the development of spatial data infrastructures (SDIs), especially with second-generation SDIs, in which the original product-based SDI was improved to a process-based SDI. Through the use of SDIs, geo-information is made available to local, national and international organisations in regions affected by natural disasters as well as to volunteers serving in these areas. Volunteer-based systems for information collection (e.g., Ushahidi) have been created worldwide. However, the use of 3D maps is still limited. This paper discusses the applicability of 3D geo-information to disaster management. We discuss some important aspects of maps for disaster management, such as user-centred maps, the necessary components for 3D maps, symbols, and colour schemas. In addition, digital representations are evaluated with respect to their visual controls, i.e., their usefulness for the navigation and exploration of the information. Our recommendations are based on responses from a variety of users of these technologies, including children, geospecialists and disaster managers from different countries.

The development of a spatial data infrastructure to support marine spatial planning in Greece

In the wake of the so-called information technology revolution, many stakeholders from the public and private sectors (including citizens) have indeed grown accustomed to the promise and usability of spatial data infrastructures (SDI) for data access, use, and sharing. Analyzing the obstacles as well as the processes and mechanisms of integration and implementation, Spatial Data Infrastructures in Context: North and South investigates the technological and the non-technological aspects of the widespread adoption of spatial data infrastructures. Supporting theoretical issues with empirical studies, the editors pay particular attention to the non-technological aspects of organizational, financial, and legal issues including owner rights, liability, copyrights, and compatibility with precedent and supercedent laws. The authors also highlight the importance of understanding the local environment and circumstances in the process of tailoring the approaches to the conditions that characterize societies of different cultural, institutional, and economic settings. Designed to improve the accessibility, interoperability, and affordability of spatial data, the book focuses on the increasing challenges associated with integrating individuals and organizations into a network to support (1) public authorities and administrations at various levels, (2) thematic user communities, (3) enterprises, and (4) citizen-oriented society as a whole. It addresses the implementation and development of spatial data infrastructures for a wide range of themes, applicable technical standards and protocols, and specific organizational issues unique to data policy. Highlighting the potential for profound changes to the access, use, and exchange of spatial data for citizens, organizations, and geographically related applications, and therefore to the role and interaction of the stakeholders from the public and private sectors, this timely contribution provides new insights into improving our understanding of the increasing relevance, applicability, and value of spatial data infrastructures.

OGC Catalog Services: a key element for the development of Spatial Data Infrastructures

Abstract. Education on spatial data infrastructures is an important building block of study programs focusing on spatial data. The focus is on equipping students with essential skills for future contributions to spatial data infrastructure development and application. Despite a wide range of available teaching materials, their reuse is hindered by a lack of harmonization and integration into learning modules. This paper reports on the activities in the "Open Educational Resources for Spatial Data Infrastructures" (OER4SDI) project, which addresses this gap by developing easily reusable teaching materials for spatial data infrastructures. OER4SDI strives to create high-quality, findable, accessible, interoperable, and easily reusable (FAIR) educational resources, fostering efficient knowledge exchange in the field of spatial data infrastructures. The project puts a special focus on the modularity of open educational resources to enable reuse in a wide variety of settings. We describe the workflows and technical setup we use to enable collaborative development of open educational resources and their continuous revision, which is vital in this rapidly evolving field. Three example open educational resources for spatial data infrastructures are given, dealing with the "AAA Data Catalog", "OGC Open API Features", and "Knowledge Graphs". We share the lessons learned from the project to foster the development of more high-quality open educational resources in our community.

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are an advanced technology framework for acquiring, organizing and analyzing spatial data. In contrast to static maps, GIS enables to develop dynamic digital models using a layered architecture that integrates many thematic components, including infrastructure, topography and soil types, to show complex geographic relationships. This chapter focuses into the fundamentals of GIS, including hardware, software and the crucial role of skilled professionals in transforming raw geographical data into usable insights for urban planning, environmental modeling and disaster response. GIS efficacy is dependent on the Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), which offers the standardized guidelines and norms required for smooth data exchange and compatibility. The chapter describes the technological procedures involved in processing geographical data, from basic data collection by GPS and remote sensing to sophisticated analysis through Database Management Systems (DBMS). Spatial DBMS (SDBMS), which are designed to handle geographic coordinates and shapes, are given particular attention. The description also emphasizes the need for rigorous data quality standards, metadata documentation and transformation procedures like georeferencing and reprojection. These processes ensure the accuracy, dependability and scientific soundness of geospatial datasets for advanced agricultural and environmental management decision-making.

With the dramatic development of spatial data infrastructure, CyberGIS has become significant for geospatial data sharing. Due to the large number of concurrent users and large volume of vector data, CyberGIS faces a great challenge in how to improve performance. The real-time visualization of vector maps is themost common function in CyberGIS applications, and it is time-consuming especially when the data volume becomes large. So, how to improve the efficiency of visualization of large vector maps is still a significant research direction for GIScience scientists. In this research, we review the existing three optimization strategies, and determine that the third category strategy (i.e., parallel optimization) is appropriate for the real-time visualization of large vector maps. One of the key issues of parallel optimization is how to decompose the real-time visualization tasks into balanced sub tasks while taking into consideration the spatial heterogeneous characteristics. We put forward some rules that the decomposition should conform to, and design a real-time visualization framework for large vector maps. We focus on a balanced decomposition approach that can assure efficiency and effectiveness. Considering the spatial heterogeneous characteristic of vector data, we use a "horizontal grid, verticalmultistage" approach to construct a spatial point distribution information grid. The load balancer analyzes the spatial characteristics of the map requests and decomposes the real-time viewshed into multiple balanced sub viewsheds. Then, all the sub viewsheds are distributed to multiple server nodes to be executed in parallel, so as to improve the realtime visualization efficiency of large vector maps. A group of experiments have been conducted by us. The analysis results demonstrate that the approach proposed in this research has the ability of balanced decomposition, and it is efficient and effective for all geometry types of vector data.

Chapter 1.3 - (Em)powering People: Reconciling Energy Security and Land-Use Management in the Sudano-Sahelian Region

This paper explores how technological innovation is transforming legal and policy frameworks for sustainable land use and how these techno-legal processes, in turn, shape land conversion, land use change and the conflict between developmental needs and ecological constraints. It follows two related tracks. First – Rights focused techno-constitutionalism in which information technologies like remote sensing, GIS and spatial data infrastructure, citizen science monitoring, open data initiatives and digital land information systems are used as evidence and empowerment technologies that substantiate the right to a healthy environment. By increasing visibility and traceability, these technologies can magnify claims made under existing constitutional rights such as judicial assertions of rights to life, equality or the environment and also enable new rights-based claims. Second – Duty focused techno-governance approach in which state obligations to manage the land are translated into digital planning, sensor networks, algorithmic environmental impact assessment, precision agriculture and blockchain supported tenure systems that seek to enhance compliance, accountability and adaptability. Therefore, this article proposes a balanced approach that combines rights and responsibilities, keeps equity central and employs technology as a means not an end in itself, but rather as a tool to enhance governance and achieve sustainable land development.

The use of law, the main tool for implementing policy, to regulate and coordinate disaster management, preparedness and response systems features in many jurisdictions. Also, international guidance on the use of effective laws and policies, which emphasize taking on board critical stakeholders, including humanitarian responders is available. Consequently, the government of Tanzania has promulgated a new disaster management law as part of a wider reform of the legal framework to regulate disaster management and response systems which seek to involve stakeholders at all stages. This article analyses the extent to which the restructured legal framework and supporting policy address humanitarian responders who provide informal assistance, often before formal government intervention. The article traces the history of disaster management policies and laws in the country in the context of the humanitarianism – disaster management nexus. It focuses on the aftermath of the earthquake that ravaged Kagera Region in Bukoba district in the northern west part of the country in September 2016. This analysis is supported with field data from Bukoba district. The findings reveal that the legal framework for regulating disaster management and response system does not reflect international and regional clarion calls for engaging informal humanitarian responders. Recommendations on how this gap can be addressed are provided, laying emphasis on incorporating the clarion calls in order to improve the country’s legal and policy framework for disaster response and management systems.

Abstract: Smart Safety Solutions: Revolutionizing Personal Security with Real-Time Wearable Tech builds a rigorous, multidisciplinary foundation for the design, evaluation, and responsible governance of safety wearables. Treating personal security as a problem of real-time risk estimation under uncertainty, the book integrates risk science, human factors, ubiquitous sensing, embedded systems, and socio-legal analysis. It advances a systems view in which devices operate as nodes in safety ecologies linking users, trusted contacts, emergency services, and policy frameworks. Methodologically, it couples compact on-device analytics and multi-bearer connectivity with privacy-preserving data practices, formal reliability engineering, and evidence standards suitable for institutional adoption. Cross-regional case studies (urban GBV programs, elder-care, lone-worker protection, disaster response, and mobility safety) illustrate how design choices translate into measurable outcomes—time-to-assist, false-alarm control, fairness, and social return on investment. The book culminates in an actionable roadmap: open conformance profiles, assurance dossiers, continuous certification, circular design, and deployment playbooks tailored to cities, campuses, enterprises, and NGOs. By converting “gadgets” into auditable guarantees, this work equips researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to deliver equitable, resilient, and ethically governed personal safety infrastructures. Keywords personal safety wearables, pervasive sensing, real-time analytics, multimodal fusion, human factors, trust calibration, privacy-by-design, safety-by-design, federated learning, on-device AI, LTE-M, NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, satellite fallback, zero-trust security, interoperability, PSAP integration, resilience engineering, reliability and certification, trauma-informed UX, GBV prevention, elder-care monitoring, lone-worker safety, disaster response, social return on investment, open standards, policy harmonization, circular design, ethics and governance

During the last two decades The Russian Federation experienced a serious external pressure on the part of western countries, including the impact of unfair competition on global commodity markets and sectional costs. At the same time global geo-political space is undergoing changes too. Principle risks and threats to national and regional economic security, which kept arising in the previous years in many regions of the country, are becoming the most topical. Our home market demonstrates different dynamics of its development, which is characterized by low economic growth, regional disproportions in social and economic development, shortage of investment. Positive indicators include relative sustainability of economy, surplus of regional budgets, success of certain entities of the country in attaining strategic goals, a high level of openness of Federation entities’ economy. In this context identification of key risks and threats to regional economic security acquires special importance, designing approaches to their minimization and elimination is also essential. Unfortunately, there is no universal approach to their elimination in the global practice, however, it is possible to lower their impact on social and economic sphere. The authors analyzed a number of key factors influencing economic security in regions. Two large macro-regions of Russia, i. e. the Central and the Privolzhskiy Federal districts were investigated. Using their example entities, which are included in these districts, were typified by dynamics of certain indicators. It showed serious differentiation, the trends of investment shortage dominates in the majority of regions. In both districts, mentioned above the share of investment into fixed capital in gross regional product and returns on assets ratio decreased. Only the Kaluga region as an entity of the Central Federal district shows positive dynamics. Specific weight of shipped innovation products in the total volume of industrial output (indicator) demonstrates the level of economic security of the area in view of its competitiveness. The authors showed that the number of regions with growing dynamics of innovation products output is prevailing. Disproportions in key indicators of regional economic security were found. Positive factors of its growth, such as availability of serious potential of innovation economy development were identified.

In the Arab Region, water and energy are recognized as indispensable inputs to modern economies and are driven by the three imperatives of security of supply, sustainability, and economic efficiency. In most Arab Countries, despite the links and the urgency for security of supply in both sectors, in existing policy frameworks, energy and water policies are developed largely in isolation from one another—a degree of policy fragmentation that is seeing erroneous development in both sectors. For the Arab Region, the absence of a comprehensive understanding of the links between energy, water, and food security is quite evident. Integrated policy and management strategies and solutions need to be better identified, as well as understanding where barriers exist to achieve that integration. Understanding and managing the energy-water-food security nexus means different things to different people. Nevertheless, as a challenge deeply embedded in our quest for sustainable development, a better understanding of the links between energy, water, and food security is essential in any attempt to formulate policies (Hoff 2011). This requires urgent attention to building relationships and linkages between policy making institutions of the three sectors. As far as water, energy, and food nexus security in the region is concerned, the critical new institutional challenge should be directed at developing policies, rules, and organization and management skills to enhance the ability to evaluate and address the crucial questions related to policy choices and modes of implementation among development options. This will result in having informed decisions that integrate the energy, water, and food production sectors based on the understanding of environmental potentials and limits, and on needs of the people in the country concerned. Capacity building is, and will continue to be an integral part and a fundamental supporting tool for water, energy, and food security nexus. To successfully meet the nexus challenge, effective capacity building is needed to find sustainable solutions to the increasing problems related to water scarcity, energy shortages, and the food production gap. The road map towards effective capacity building requires the active participation of a wide range of stakeholders and individuals with vastly different perceptions of the issues at stake. It is equally important for capacity building to enlarge its scope and go beyond education and training to encompass the wider issues of institutions and both formal and informal organizations. Those issues, in addition to others required to establish effective and successful capacity building development strategies, are the focus of this chapter.